Equity, Diversity & Inclusion

Our commitment for a more inclusive Doctors of BC

BC doctors are a diverse group comprised of different genders, racial backgrounds, religious affiliations, sexual orientations, ages, specialties, practice locations, and more. Our physician members also serve a patient population that is as equally diverse in their backgrounds and in their health care needs. To reflect and understand the wide diversity of our physician members and their patients, Doctors of BC is undertaking work to ensure that our governance bodies are representative and inclusive of the diversity of our members. As well, we strive to support our members in their ongoing efforts to ensure that BC’s health care system is equitable and inclusive for both the providers who work in it and the patients who are served by it. 

Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion in Our Governance Bodies

As part of our broader work around equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI), we are making efforts to increase the diversity and inclusivity of our governance bodies – the Board, Representative Assembly, and Committees – while also working to ensure that all members have an equal opportunity to participate in these bodies. 

Vision Statement: Our Commitment to Equity, Diversity and Inclusion

Our Vision Statement outlines our overall aspirational commitment and vision for EDI in our governance bodies now and in the future. The graphic below highlights the guiding principles of this vision statement.

Inclusion, Diversity, Equity and Advisory (IDEA) Committee

In late 2022, Doctors of BC’s Board approved the creation of the Inclusion, Diversity, Equity and Advisory (IDEA) Committee to provide advice to the Board and the Association on EDI related issues pertaining to Doctors of BC governance bodies, members, and the profession at large. It will also provide input on – and support implementation of – the Board’s EDI goals.

This new committee replaces the previous Diversity and Inclusion Advisory Working Group, whose purpose was to provide input on the implementation of the Barrier Assessment recommendations as well as advice and input on a wide range of EDI related work within the Association, which has since been completed. 

The IDEA Committee is comprised of:

Dr Derek Chang (Chair)
Dr Thomas Covello 
Dr Simone Cowan
Dr Valerie Ehasoo
Dr Jennifer Jeans
Dr Jatinder Khatra 
Dr Laurie Nadwidny
Elsie Wang (Medical Student)
Dr Charlotte Yong-Hing

Equity, diversity and inclusion work

Barrier Assessment

In 2019, Doctors of BC conducted broad member engagement with more than 1,400 members through surveys, focus groups, and interviews to identify barriers to diversity and inclusion in our governance bodies. We used this information to create the Doctors of BC Diversity and Inclusion Barrier Assessment Report that contains 57 recommendations for improving diversity and inclusion within our governance bodies. All of these recommendations have been acted on while four of them are in the process of being implemented.

For a summary of the recommendations and a sense of how they relate to one another, please take a look at the summary of recommendations.  

Recent and Ongoing Work

• Doctors of BC’s 2023 policy statement on Gender Equity in the Medical Profession makes a number of recommendations on how the BC Ministry of Health, health authorities, other physician employers, and medical schools can improve gender equity. The statement also includes commitments by Doctors of BC to support this work.
• In our 2022 Member Demographic Report, we compared the demographic makeup of our membership population to our governance bodies to measure how we’re doing in our efforts to increase the diversity and inclusivity of those governance bodies.
• The Physician Health Program created a virtual peer support group for physicians who are Black, Indigenous, and people of colour (BIPOC).
• We continue to use multiple channels to communicate committee opportunities and encourage applications from all members in an ongoing effort to ensure our committees reflect the rich diversity of our membership. 
• We are evaluating past EDI training delivered to members serving on our governance bodies to determine next steps in potentially providing this training again.

Previous work

• Invested in technology to enable virtual meetings and gatherings to make participation in governance bodies more accessible for members living in rural or remote areas, members with disabilities, and members who have responsibilities at home.
• Introduced a Code of Conduct that sets a minimum standard of conduct for all Doctors of BC members when carrying out work on behalf of the Association.
• Improved the planning and communication of work done by the Representative Assembly to keep members informed on the RA’s work and contributions to Doctors of BC’s strategic priorities. Summaries of past RA meetings can be found here (member login required).
• Delivered unconscious bias, and diversity and inclusion training for members on committees, the Representative Assembly, and the Board.
• Included expanded demographic questions in the Benchmark Member Survey to better understand how different groups of our members interact with Doctors of BC and access our services 
• Increased physician awareness of opportunities to participate in governance bodies through heightened promotion of opportunities and by highlighting physicians serving on committees via our Doctors Making a Difference series.
• Included consideration of diversity and inclusion as a component in the selection of members for committee

 

Equity, diversity and inclusion resources and information

• Doctors of BC has compiled a list of resources for learning more about equity, diversity, and inclusion.